In the Earth's Shadow
by Roarky
Summary: A young man gives his life so his princess, and the love of his life, can die in the arms of the man she loves. Now he finds himself alive again, and danger is once more approaching. How far will a man go to protect the one who will never love him?
1. Prologue: The Darkest of Days

A/N: So, when I restarted writing fan-fiction, my plan was to only work on one story at a time. Recent events have forced me to change that plan. I still am working on my Love Hina story, but I can't access the files for it very regularly. So I am starting on this story. My main character will be an OC, but will not be especially strong. He will not be a grand leader, a sexy, stylish, pretty boy, and will not be a self-insertion. He will be weaker than any of the Sailor Senshi, or Tuxedo Kamen. Now, onto the story.

Prologue: The Darkest of Days

Queen Serenity knew of Prince Endymion's love for her daughter; the majority of the kingdom knew of it. What most of the kingdom did not know of, however, was the love that Sailor Pluto's only child held for her. Queen Serenity, however, had long taken pride in not being most people. She knew he loved her daughter, she also knew that her daughter would never notice, and that on the off chance that she did notice, would never return those feelings. Her maternal instincts said to quietly pull him aside and explain that to the poor boy, but she decided not to. It was a painful decision to make, and one that she would not have made if she had been anyone other than the queen. Because she was the queen, her daughter's life would always be in danger. If necessary, she would wound her heart, and the child's, to protect her daughter.

She knew the boy well. He was a romantic, and would lay down his life for the woman he loved. She was counting on that. The time might come when the time his death would buy could save lives. It was a cold, callous, and cruel decision on the queen's part, but a necessary precaution none the less. It really was too bad that all the boy's attempts to woo the princess would amount to nothing. The four year age difference was probably the biggest hindrance for him, as it caused the princess to think of him as a younger brother, rather than a potential paramour.

Then a day came when his love for her daughter came into fruition. The boy had long since learned of the love between the prince and princess, and had decided to stand aside. Still, he loved the princess, and wanted her happy more than anything else. So he made a disturbance at a ball so Princess Serenity could sneak off to meet with her love. He felt the combined heartbreak of her going to a love that was someone else, and the bliss earning a smile of gratitude from her brought.

Then the Dark Kingdom had attacked. The forces of the moon were being annihilated. The child began to search for his love, planning to protect her from anything that Endymion might miss. He arrived, and saw a blast quickly approaching the two he was searching for. It traveled in a path toward the two, and the balcony on which they stood. Rather than think or panic, he responded with his gut impulse, a voice whispering what to yell into his mind. A small section of his mind commented on the fact that he had never been able to use his magic before then, in spite of almost constant training to unlock his powers. Now they manifested, when it looked grim. Still, the rest of his mind focused on what he was to yell.

"Life's Shield!" He felt a pull on his magical reserves, and they instantly drained. Still the attack continued. He was not powerful enough. He had failed her. Then he noticed that his shield still remained, and he still felt its pull. It just wasn't draining his magic. He looked down at the princess, knowing that even if he prevented this blast, she would soon be dead. She was lunging toward Endymion, who was currently in the air. Great. Now they would die in each others arms. A bitter-sweet smile spread over the child's face. He had loved her, and she would die in the arms of one who loved her as much as he did. The only difference was that the affection was a two way street for them. Then the attack ended, and he fell to the ground. He watched as the lovers held each other, even as his life faded. The shield had drained all his life energy to power it, and he knew his next breath would be his last. Then Queen Beryl attacked the two, and the boy watched as the woman he loved died in the arms of another. His vision began to fade, and as his body shuddered in death's cold grip, he saw the queen act. A voice echoed through his mind, telling him that he would have a second chance. Then his spirit left his body, only to be captured by the Ginzuisho and flung forward in time.

Otowa Sansho sat up in his bed gasping for breath as he woke from a terrifying dream.

A/N: Well, thus ends the prologue to my first attempt at a Sailor Moon story. I hope it is enjoyable.


	2. Awakening

A/N: Well, time for the author's note, but I really don't know what to say. Yay, I have two reviews already on the prologue? Give away spoilers for my story? (That one is not gonna happen.) What? Still it's customary for me to do this, so here's my waste of space.

To my reviewers:

nannaF: Thank you, I'm glad you enjoyed it. I will tell you this, I'm just going to briefly brush over the first three story lines (Those being the Dark Kingdom, the Aliens, and the Black Moon Clan.). My character will not actually have much of an effect until the Death Buster Saga. Actually, he'll just have been an observer to those, not even fully waking until the fight between Sailor Moon and the Black Lady came to an end. Still, I think you'll enjoy what I have in store for this.

Phantasy Star: Good to know that it seems interesting. I have plans for this, though I'm not too experienced at angst. I also am not the MOST experienced with romance, considering I've only ever has one sorta girlfriend (By that I mean we never did more than have lunch together and admit to mutual attraction.). But I hope it measures up to your expectations.

Chapter 1: Awakening

Otowa Sansho sat up in his bed gasping for breath as he woke from a terrifying dream. They had been coming with more frequency now. Normally he would blame it on the appearance of the Sailor Senshi, after all, he was a boy on the cusp of puberty, but there was a problem. His dreams had begun a week _before_ the Senshi had first appeared. Yeah, Sailor V had been spoken of, but she had still been considered an urban legend. With the appearance of Sailor Moon, Sansho became worried. He felt an odd sense of nostalgia and pain every time he heard her name or saw an image of her. It wasn't right! He was a young man, and he was _fourteen_! He shouldn't already be pining for an unattainable love!

'Wait, wait, wait. Love? I'm fourteen! I can't be in love! I'm supposed to have immature crushes, and be picking on the girls that I have crushes on, not getting all angst-ridden like a _high-schooler_! Come on, man, pull yourself together. You still have another couple years until you're allowed to be like that.' After that, he got up and quickly started getting ready for the day. He was supposed to meet up with Shoji and Akira in the main part of town soon.

After a brief breakfast, and saying good-bye to his parents, Sansho was charging down the street, hoping that he would not be late meeting with his friends. They had a standing deal that the last one there paid for the food that day and he had already used up half of his allowance the day before when he had arrived last. As he neared the meeting point, he noticed that it seemed a little darker than normal, but just shrugged it off in his haste. The spot was just around the corner now.

He made it to the spot, and nearly danced in joy. Not only was he not last, he was _first_! He was never first there! That wasn't an exaggeration, either. After all, his friends enjoyed showing him the record. He was totally going to rub this in their faces when the got there. He sat on a bench to wait for them, planning exactly what to say, that might sound cool.

Fifteen minutes later, he was starting to worry. They were never this late. What if they were sick, or had canceled the day and he had left before they could tell him? Just as he was getting ready to leave, Shoji came running up to the spot, a look of excitement on his face. "Dude, you've got to see this! Sailor Moon and the Senshi are having another big battle! They're fighting the Black Lady!"

"Where? Are they all right?"

"Man, you've totally got a whopper of a crush on Moon." Shoji grinned at him, and Sansho began turning red, knowing the teasing he was about to endure. "Not that I blame you. She's seriously hot, and runs around in that skirt. But come on, couldn't you have a crush on one of the cooler ones? I mean, yeah, she leads them, but she's such a _blonde_! I mean, speeches? When you're about to fight a monster? The things probably don't understand what she's saying half the time. And they're so _cheesy_ to! Also, she's probably the _least _developed of them, and usually just throws herself around trying to stay alive while the others fight. But, hey, man. You're choice, and it could be worse. You could have had a thing for Tuxedo Kamen.

"Now tell me, do you have a poster of her hanging over your bed? Are you gonna ask for her autograph? Maybe her phone number? Just to warn you though, I think she and Tuxedo Kamen are an item. Can't understand why, the guy looks like he bats for the home team, but whatever. After all, you kinda look like that too." Sansho took a mock irritated swing at his best friend, and Shoji stepped back, waving his arms. "Sorry, just kidding. You're the epitome of masculinity. Your muscles make me tremble in fear."

"No, that's just all the fat you have quivering while you walk." Shoji stared at Sansho in shock for a second, before he began laughing. As the two hurried to the sight where the battle would take place, they began trading friendly insults, the danger of the situation forgotten. Finally they arrived, seeing the battle come to an end, Sailor Moon unsurprisingly victorious. Unknown to them, the battle had left some structural damage on the building. The crowd dispersed, leaving Sansho and his two friends staring at the scene of the epic battle. Akira turned and noticed his two friends.

"Hey, Shoji, Sansho. Don't worry; I caught the whole fight on film, so you can watch it all later. It was cool. It's too bad the Black Lady turned back into a little kid after the fight though. She was… just wow."

"Dude, she might have looked like a teen, but she was still just a kid. That's a little creepy."

"Shoji, shut up. I wouldn't do anything _now_, but if I meet her when she is a teen, she's gonna be a total babe. Besides, your fixation with older women is a little creepy also. I'm glad my mom's married, because if she wasn't I would be scared to invite you over." Sansho almost fell over laughing.

"Oh, yeah? Well, that's cool. We can start hanging out at my house more. But if you so much as start looking at my little sister, Akira…"

"Come on, man! I'm not into little kids! She's twelve, and you are SICK!"

"She might be twelve, but that's probably older than the kid form of the Black Lady. Besides, I think she might have a little crush on you." Akira looked at Shoji in shock, before pretending to gag.

"Tell her to wait four years, and I'll consider it. Until then, that's just gross." Shoji laughed and gave his friend a playful punch to the shoulder.

"Right, like I'd ever encourage her to date you…" Suddenly a lady screamed, and every eye turned toward her, then in the direction she was staring. Akira, Shoji, and Sansho froze. A piece of the building they were under was falling directly toward them. As it grew closer, each of them felt varying degrees of shock as they began to realize that they were about to die. Akira wished he had taken the time to say good-bye to his parents this morning, and to tell them he loved them. Shoji felt tears welling up in his eyes at the knowledge that he wouldn't be there to help his little sister. His father tried his best, but it just wasn't enough with their mother dead. Shoji wouldn't be there to give advice, or protection, or comfort… Sansho just stared, until a little voice caught his attention. He felt strength welling up within him, and he remembered a phrase from his dreams.

"Life Shield." A thin hazy barrier formed between the three boys and the rubble. When the chunk of rebar and concrete hit the barrier, it turned to dust, and drifted down onto the three boy's heads. Then Sansho collapsed to the ground, unconscious. His two friends turned to him, there eyes widening in shock as they beheld their friend. He still looked the same, physically, but his clothing was completely different. Instead of jeans and a t-shirt, he was wearing a golden tunic with black designs running across it, and had black pauldrons on his shoulders. His legs were covered by black and gold armor with more designs on them. On his head was a crown that seemed to shift between the two colors that seemed to be his theme. Then they noticed the crowd that was starting to form around them, and they grabbed their friend. The two shared a glance, communicating and forming a plan silently. Shoji hid Sansho's face, while Akira began causing a scene to distract the by-standers. In the chaos that he caused, Shoji slipped away. Akira would find them in a couple hours, and by then, Sansho would hopefully be awake.

* * *

Sansho groaned in pain, his mind slowly returning to the land of the living. Then his memory returned, and he sat up in shock. The quick movement proved to be a mistake, as his small breakfast made an unplanned and unwanted break for freedom. "Come on, man! If you gotta spew, try _not _to do it on my bed, please." He looked over, and saw Shoji sitting by him. His face must have shown his nervousness, because Shoji grinned at him. "Don't worry about it. You just saved my life, so you're entitled to one free throw-up-on-Shoji's-bed coupon. And the crazy awesome powers, and clothing, can be explained once Akira gets here. Now get off the bed for a second so I can clean it and throw the sheets in the wash. While I do this, find my sister, and tell her that I asked her to make some snacks for us. Also tell her that Akira likes rice-balls, and will be here shortly."

"Shoji, you're awful. I'm not gonna tell your sister to make something Akira hates! She'd never forgive me, and would tell my parents and older sister about it. I will ask her to make us something though. I could seriously use some food."

"Fine, fine. I'll leave you out of my evil plots for now. You're seriously no fun though. Too scared of your _sister_ to give your best friend a hand in protecting his sister. What is the world coming to?"

"Your sister is safe from Akira for now, and my sister is a dojo instructor. She could rip me apart with just her pinky. Besides, you're scared of her too."

"You should really be looking for my sister, and I need to wash these sheets. What are you just standing around for? Oh, you might want to cancel out the armor before leaving this room." Sansho looked down at himself for the first time since he woke up, and just kept staring. "Okay, yeah, your armors cool, but you had better quit ogling yourself, or I'm gonna through you out of my house." Sansho glared at his friend.

"I recognize this stuff. I saw myself wearing it in a dream."

"What, that one with Sailor Moon, and living on the moon?"

"Yeah. This is a little creepy. Does the dream mean something, or what?"

"Sure it does! It clearly means that you and Sailor Moon are… Aliens, sent to invade earth by gathering a large following, then eating your follower's brains! Though any follower of yours would probably have to lack brains anyway. After all, no intelligent being would follow you."

"Oh shut up. Now how do I get this stuff off?" The armor vanished, leaving him in his normal clothes. "Oh, that's how. Well, I'm gonna find your sister now. Want me to grab the air freshener while I'm at it?"

"Sure. It smells bad in here."

"Yeah, and my throwing up didn't help it any." Sansho laughed as a pillow smacked him in the back of the head.

* * *

Akira panted in exhaustion. It was a good thing he was on his school's track team. There's no way he would have avoided being caught if he had been any slower. He had needed to do something drastic to help his friend escape, so he chose the most shocking distraction he could think of on the spot. He just prayed nobody he knew saw him streaking down main street. He would be sooo screwed if someone had. But that was unimportant right now. He needed to know if Sansho was fine, and what had happened on the street.

He walked up to Shoji's door, and gave it a quick knock. The door flew open, and Akira saw Kimiko grinning at him. "Akira-kun, Sansho-san told me you would be here soon! He asked me to make some dango and send them up with you." So saying, the twelve-year-old shoved a plate into his hands, and dragged him inside.

"Ah, thanks, Kimiko-chan. Sansho's awake? Where are they?"

"They're in Shoji-niisan's room."

"Okay. Thanks again for the dango."

"It's no problem, Akira-kun. I was happy to make them." Akira walked up the stairs, slightly flattered, but also worried by the girl's crush. He reached the hall leading to his friend's room, and heard a soft _thwack_ followed by a spraying sound, and Shoji coughing. When he opened the door, he saw Shoji flailing a pillow in front of himself, while Sansho wielded a can of air freshener like a weapon.

"Hey, guys. I'm here, and I brought dango!" Shoji looked at Sansho in shock.

"You not only refused to tell my sister to make rice ball, but actually told her his favorite snack? Traitor!" He leaped at Sansho with his pillow, and Sansho side-stepped. The spray can came up, and Shoji got another blast of "fresh floral fragrance." He went down gasping, and Akira just laughed at the spectacle.

"All right, children, settle down now." He turned to a desk and set the dango down. When he turned around, he got two pillows to the face, making him collapse. The two armed boys spent a few minutes wailing on him, until he cried uncle. Then they all settled down, and Sansho began explaining what he thought was happening.

Once he finished talking, Akira looked at him. "So, you think you're a reincarnated alien from the moon, or Pluto, or something? That's totally awesome! My best friend's an alien! Hey, now we know why you're so infatuated with Sailor Moon, too! You loved her in your past life. Okay, actually, that bit's kinda cheesy, but the rest is awesome. Sansho grabbed one of the pillows, and threw it at him. From there, all serious conversation came to an end, as a mass pillow fight drove all reason from there fourteen year old minds.

* * *

A/N: Another chapter done and I think this might be my longest one ever! I realize the age difference in the present is actually smaller than it was in the Moon Kingdom, and it was not an accident on my part. The cause of this will be explained in later chapters. Now, to give my customary notice. To all people: If you like my story, you may review. If you want to give constructive criticism, go right ahead. If you dislike it, or just want to flame me, that's fine too. Flames and such do not bother me. But please try not to sound like an idiot in your flames, and please keep cussing to a minimal, if at all. There are children that may read the reviews. Thank you and have a nice day.


	3. First Contacts

A/N: To my adoring fans,

Sorry this update took me so long. I have spent the last couple months with unbelievable writer's block. However, I am back now, so no worries.

To my reviewers:

nannaF: Well, I personally have no problem with Mamoru, but he never interested me as a character either, so I decided that I couldn't write something with him as the main character. He also does look kinda like he bats/ roots for the home-team, especially with his outfit and roses, but whatever. (Japanese people and their bishonen obsession, I tell you what.) Do guys have pillow fights? I'm a twenty year old guy, and I still love the occasional pillow fight. I was much worse at fourteen. Sailor-moon is not twelve, by the way. Sorry if I didn't make that clear. At the start of the series, she's fourteen. This is about two years later, so she is about sixteen now. Makes it all a little more normal, neh? Thanks for the review, and I have no problem with it having taken you this long to review. After all, it took me longer to update. :p

Chapter 2: First Contact

Sansho stared at his best friends in shock. It had been two weeks since he had learned of his powers, and nothing else had been said about them. The two had just acted like everything was normal, then dropped this on him out of the blue. All he could do was sputter in shock. "What? Why? And why now? How long have you been thinking about this?"

"Since we first learned about your powers really," That was from Shoji. "Come on, man. Don't tell me you didn't think this might happen."

"Yeah, Sansho. It's only logical. What did you think would happen? You're not normal…"

"But why do you insist I try to meet the Senshi? They're heroes, and they have crazy attack powers!"

"You have your shield-thingy, and you're from the same time. Besides, this is your chance to woo Moon away from that Tuxedo Kamen weirdo."

"Oh yes, I have my shield, so they can fight, and I can commit suicide by trying to protect myself. That sounds brilliant. As for wooing Moon, I stepped aside for the two of them in the past. What makes you think I would do any different now?"

"Then forget about Moon. Go after one of the others! I mean, come on now. Just look at Mars, now that is a babe! She has those long legs…"

Shoji nudged his friend. "Akira, stop drooling. You're making an idiot of yourself. Besides, my sister is gonna get jealous. Then she would be unbearable for months."

"Hey, for someone who doesn't want me dating his sister, you sure do seem to be trying to push her off onto me."

"Man, I can't get a rise out of you at all. But as to my teasing, what good is having a little sister with a crush on your friend if you can't tease him about it? Back to the topic, though. Sansho, if you were one of the last of your people, wouldn't you want to know that your childhood friend was alive? Don't deny the Senshi that knowledge just because you're afraid! Be strong, and ease their heart-break. And if you could get me and Venus together, that would be much appreciated."

"So the truth comes out. You just want dates, so you're trying to throw me to the wolves."

"No, we just know about your self-sacrificing nature, and are giving you an opportunity to sacrifice yourself for us."

"You guys suck. You completely suck."

"So, is that a yes?"

"Fine, next time I see them, I'll transform and give them a hand. But I'm not hooking you guys up. You're on your own there."

"No, Sansho! How could you do this to us?"

"We thought you were one of us! After all we've done for you, you callously discard us like just so much garbage?"

"That's because you are just so much garbage."

"You wound us, Sansho!"

"How are we to survive such grievous injuries?"

"Only the kiss of a space maiden can heal us, Sansho."

"Don't fail us, my friend, please." Then the two friends collapsed to the ground and lay still. Sansho just stared at them, as he tried to ignore the blatant stares they were receiving from everybody that passed them.

"Okay, you two, could you stop making a scene? I'm not your pimp, so I'm not setting up jobs for you two." His two friends got up from the ground, and stared at him in shock. Then they looked at each other and shared a nod.

"You win this round, Sansho. We bow to your superior insults. Now we've got to go home, and you have to find your space girls." Then the two left him to fend for himself. He stood still for a couple minutes, trying to decide where to look for the Senshi. Once he had made up his mind on where to look first, he began to walk toward the district shrine. 'Gotta try to get some good fortune before I begin my search. At least it won't hurt anything.'

As he approached the shrine he heard shouting, and began to run. When he reached the top of the stairs, he was shocked by what he saw. There was a girl being held to a tree by pieces of wood or dirt, and a few others restrained by other means. He thought he had seen a glimpse of Tuxedo Kamen as well, but he couldn't be sure. Finally, he saw some monster hitting a fifth girl with a beam from her chest. Then a crystal floated out of the girl's chest, and to the monster. It held the crystal and laughed, seeming to be preparing a monologue, when two orbs of energy appeared out of no where, and nailed the creature.

It returned to being a tree, and something fell out of the tree that broke, and released a small burst of concentrated evil. Then two people grabbed the crystal that came from the girl and seemed to be inspecting it. They were dressed like the Senshi, but he didn't recognize them by their silhouettes. Meanwhile, the other four girls had gathered around the girl on the ground, and seemed to be weeping. Just as they seemed to be giving up hope, the two girls chucked the crystal back at the one on the ground, and took off. The crystal floated to the person it had come from, and seemed to be settling back into her chest. Once it was fully back in, the girl on the ground seemed to recover instantaneously.

Sansho just observed it all, and found himself wondering what was going on. Had two of the Senshi just saved these five girls? If so, why didn't they return the crystal immediately? If they weren't Senshi, than who were they? And why were they and the monsters interested in those crystals? He turned around and left the shrine, all thoughts of finding the Senshi temporarily forgotten.

* * *

A few days later, he once again found himself witness to the unfolding of another drama involving the Senshi. He stumbled across a girl fleeing from another monster, and followed them to the best of his ability. Still, he fell behind them, and spent several minutes trying to find them. Only when he heard the two weird attacks from the last time did he find his destination. He ran toward the sound, and saw the two people from the shrine standing on the balcony. They seemed to be looking at something, for a second, then they returned whatever it was. He heard them muttering something about a talisman, and assumed that they had been holding yet another one of those crystals. He ducked behind cover when the two turned around, and then heard someone asking them for help. The person mentioned that they were all Senshi, but the two turned their backs on whoever was in the house, and left them to fend for themselves.

Sansho activated his armor, and ran to find a way into the house. Once he was inside, he quickly navigated toward the side of the house that the fighting was occurring on, and arrived just in time to see four of the Senshi restrained by a cat thing. Tuxedo Kamen was holding his gut as though he had been injured, and the cat monster was getting ready to attack again. By the way they were talking and looking at each other, Sansho concluded that the girl still standing was an un-transformed Sailor Moon. As the cat leaped at her and Tuxedo Kamen, Sansho reacted once more. Before he could consider what he was doing, he was standing in front of the cat. His hands came up, and he raised his Life Shield. The monster began to bat at his shield, and he felt each blow drain some of his magic. He looked over his shoulder, hoping that whatever moon was doing would be done soon, because he was almost drained of energy already. Soon the shield would start using his life to power it, and he had no desire to die.

Finally Moon finished transforming, and began to swing a rod around in an intricate dance. Just as she finished her dance and yelled out her attack, Sansho's magic ran out, and the next blow weakened him. Then a wave of pain-inducing pink hit the cat thing and it separated into two pieces. The evil egg broke open again, and the puzzle just collapsed to the ground. Then the Senshi looked at the person who had saved them. He was standing in the same spot as before, but seemed to be swaying. Sailor Moon took charge of the situation. "Hello! I'm Sailor Moon, and I want to thank you for your help. Who are you?"

Sansho stared at her. "You mean that you don't remember me, Princess?"

Usagi stared at him in shock. "Princess? You know who I am? So are you from the Silver Millennium too? I'm sorry that I don't remember you, but my memory of my past life is very spotty."

"Well then, Princess, I am the Prince of Pluto, and Lord of Charon, the planet of rebirth. As far as magical powers are concerned, I am fairly weak. I do not have large reservoirs of power, and only know how to produce the Life Shield."

Mars looked at him for a second. "You say you're not very strong, magically, but your shield seemed rather powerful. It did, after all, hold up against a daemon. By the way, why is it called the Life Shield, instead of something less cheesy? Don't get me wrong, it does sound rather dramatic, but what does life have to do with your planet's power?"

"Charon is a dead planet. It has no lay lines, so any spells I use drain my own pool of magic. And it's called the Life Shield because, once it has drained my magic, it begins to eat away my life energy. The last hit from that cat-thing took some of my life." Sansho quickly tried to wave off the horror the other reincarnated warriors had on their faces. "It doesn't shorten my life or anything! It just makes me weaker for a little while until my life energy replenishes itself. It's only dangerous if I take too many hits to my life."

"No! Your powers are too dangerous for you to take part in these battles. We are the defenders of love and justice, and we can't allow one person to throw his life away." Sansho looked at Sailor Moon in shock.

"You can't allow me to do this? You are only self-appointed protectors. The only one with any room to give orders here on earth is Endymion, and _that_ is from thousands of years ago. What I do with my life is _my_ choice, not yours, Princess. Besides, you've all sacrificed yourselves before. You have no room to lecture me."

"Of course I can tell you what to do! I'm your ruler! And I'm commanding you not to endanger your life!" Sansho glared at the princess, his mind whirling. This was not how he had envisioned this conversation going. He didn't expect Sailor Moon to fling herself into his arms and pronounce her undying love for him, but he expected to receive at least a little bit of gratitude. Instead he was being _forbidden_ from helping!

"You have not been a princess for over ten millennia. Regardless of who you were back then, I owe you no service. If anything, you owe a debt to me. If you refuse to let me help you, however, I won't. But I will not stand around and do nothing. If necessary, I will hunt down the source of this evil on my own."

"This isn't your fight! What don't you understand about that? The daemons are already being handled by us, so we can't allow you to interfere!"

"'This isn't my fight'? Monsters are attacking my home city, endangering my fellow citizens, and endangering the life of the one I'm sworn to protect at _any_ cost; but this isn't my fight? Tell me how it could be any more 'my fight,' please." Sailor Moon just crossed her arms, turned her back on him, and appeared to be pouting. Sailor Mars looked at each of the two participants in the argument for a second, then turned to face Sansho.

"I guess that means you've one this argument. You should feel proud of yourself; Sailor Moon here can be really stubborn at times. The fact that she even stopped arguing without resorting to crying means that she realizes that you're right, and can't think of any reason for you not to help. Welcome to the team. I'm Sailor Mars, also known as Hino Rei, and I live at the town shrine. My grandfather is the head, and I'm a shrine attendant."

"I'm Sailor Venus, my name is Aino Minako, and my measurements are…" Venus was cut off by an embarrassed Sailor Jupiter covering her mouth.

"That's enough of that, Minako. Hello, I'm Kino Motoko, and I'm Sailor Jupiter. I'm a great cook, a decent martial artist, and an okay seamstress…" Minako pushed Motoko off of her, and glared at her.

"Oh so that's how it is, is it? You only stopped me because you're worried that if he knew my measurements nothing you could say would sway him to you." The two good friends began to bicker about it, and Sansho noticed another one of the Senshi palming her face. He walked up to her, and held his hand out for her to shake. She looked at him, and gave him a small smile.

"Sorry about those two. I'm Mizuno Ami, Sailor Mercury, and I put up with stuff like this all the time. Usually, though, it's an argument between our fearless leader and Sailor Mars. As you know, that is our leader Sailor Moon, and her birth name is Tsukino Usagi." The only other guy present approached the two, and greeted Sansho.

"Hey, good to have another guy in the group. All the estrogen could get a little bit hard to bear at times. It'll be nice to have someone that has the same kinds of problems around. I'm Tuxedo Kamen, or Prince Endymion, or Chiba Mamoru. Do you think we could get your real name now? It would get irritating constantly calling you Lord Charon."

"Oh, Sorry. I'm Otowa Sansho. My parents are independently wealthy, and my sister is a dojo instructor. It's nice to meet you all." Sansho felt himself beginning to relax. Sure things had gotten to a rough start, but it all seemed to work out in the end. Perhaps it was a good thing his friends had convinced him to meet the Senshi, after all. One can't have too many friends, really, and maybe his powers would prevent one person from almost dying. If so, it would be worth all the danger.

* * *

A/N: Well, I'm done with this chapter. I think it might even be my longest chapter to date. I can't be sure, though. I hope you all enjoy it. If you don't, please tell me why, and I will take it into consideration. Thank you, and have a great day.


End file.
